Tuesday, December 4, 2007

These delicate madeleines are a simple homage to a friend of mine who lives on the other side of the planet. She’s a tremendously talented cook/baker and I have used many of her recipes here.A generous and sensitive friend, who sent, all the way from Japan, a box addressed to Brazil – a box full of beautiful and adorable things. And these were among the gifts:

It took me forever to first use the pans – every time I decided to make the madeleines, I remembered that the batter had to be refrigerated for at least a while. And as Murphy is also a friend of mine (sometimes) the idea of baking these beauties would only occur to me when there would be no time for batter-resting.

Of course I used a recipe from the person who sent me the pans – the madeleines were fantastic! I had never tried these famous miniature cakes – can I call them this way? – and it was a new and delicious thing to learn. The smell of the lime is contagious and the flavor… Well, I don’t need to tell these are highly addictive – can’t wait to try different recipes.

Akemi, my dear, you are a very, very special person. I’m so lucky to have you as a friend!! Thank you for sharing such amazing things with me! xoxo

Lime honey madeleines

100g unsalted butter100g all purpose flour½ teaspoon baking powder2 eggs60g sugar30g honey – I used orange blossom honey2 tablespoons lime juicepinch of grated lime zest – this is optional; I’m a citrus sucker so I used the grated zest of 1 large lime

Brush molds with melted butter and sprinkle with flour to coat; tap the pans to remove excess flour.Sift together flour and baking powder into a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until well combined. Add the juice, zest and the flour mixture. Mix only until flour is incorporated.Melt butter and honey in the microwave oven or in a small bowl over lightly simmering water – I did this step before starting the recipe itself and set the liquid aside to cool a bit.Add melted butter + honey to batter and mix well.

Cover the bowl with plastic or cling film and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour – I left it overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/355ºF. Pour batter onto prepared pans – it’s not necessary to level it up, since the batter will spread in the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean.

Makes 12 madeleines – I got 15 small + 5 large ones

The bumps were pretty small... I think I have to keep making madeleines until I get bigger bumps. :)

What a beautiful gift and a beautiful result. I've always wanted to make madeleines but have never gotten around to making the right pans, so I suppose I've had the opposite problem as you! Makes me want a nice cup of coffee and a chair to curl myself up in.

Patricia, these are the cutest and most adorable madeleines I've ever seen! Seems like they are back in 'Food Fashion'- madeleine posts have been popping up at every corner of the globe! I posted on them recently too!

Cakes? Cookies? Who cares--they look and sound delicious! And the recipe has lime juice in it. Aren't Brazilians required by law to make any recipe that includes any part of the lime? I do have a serious question too: Why does the batter need to be refrigerated? As you can tell, I rarely bake.

I think your humps are just perfect. I think you must keep making madeleines until I am able to taste them or for about any reason you can think of and then bake them just because the last one was eaten!They are such good little cakes. I think I need to get my pans out.

Mmm I love madeleines & yours look great. My favourite kind to make are earl grey flavoured. I think to get the bigger bumps, you have to make sure you've thoroughly chilled the batter in the fridge for a few hours.